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The Matrix Comics: 20th Anniversary Edition or just The Matrix Comics is a printed collection of twenty six comics and two short stories set in The Matrix universe. It came to 400 pages and was published by Burlyman Entertainment on November 2019, twenty years after The Matrix movie.[1] Spencer Lamm returns to write the introduction.

This book was never supposed to exist. When we started commissioning these stories set in the world of The Matrix, they were released online, with no intention of printing them. Like the spoon, there was no book, and we leaned into that notion, keeping the comics digital, as if of the Matrix itself. We received a steady stream of emails asking us to print. Four years after our original online launch, we finally relented, releasing two paperback collections, 12 stories in each. Still, we never printed all the stories, or a hardcover, let alone a deluxe edition. So here it is, twenty years on, and for the first time.

― Spencer Lamm[2]

Stories[]

This definitive edition includes all The Matrix comics and short stories from both the The Matrix Comics Volume 1 and Volume 2 and is further expanded by the inclusion of four previously unprinted comics.

Title Writers Artists Comments
Bits and Pieces of InformationVol.1 | Ser.1 Lana & Lilly Wachowski Geof Darrow Written as the first of a four part story,[3] aspects of this story were later incorporated into the Animatrix short film The Second Renaissance. Artist Geof Darrow worked as a concept artist for The Matrix series of films.
Sweating the Small StuffVol.1 | Ser.1 Bill Sienkiewicz Spencer Lamm is credited under plot in the comic strip but not in the Volume 1 contents page.
A Life Less EmptyVol.1 | Ser.1 Ted McKeever
GoliathVol.1 | Ser.1 Neil Gaiman Bill Sienkiewicz, Gregory Ruth A short story.
Burning HopeVol.1 | Ser.2 John Van Fleet
ButterflyVol.1 | Ser.2 Dave Gibbons
A Sword of a Different ColorVol.1 | Ser.3

Troy Nixey

Get It?Vol.1 | Ser.2 Peter Bagge
There Are No Flowers in the Real WorldVol.1 | Ser.2 David Lapham Parts 1 & 2. Also released with Stray Bullets #2 for Free Comic Book Day in 2002 by El Capitan Books.
The Miller's TaleVol.1 | Ser.3 Paul Chadwick Released as a limited edition single story comic, given away at the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con and for pre-orders of the first printed volume.
Artistic FreedomVol.1 | Ser.3 Ryder Windham Kilian Plunkett
Hunters and CollectorsVol.1 | Ser.3 Gregory Ruth
*NEWAn Easy OneSer.2 Tommy Lee Edwards Previously unprinted.
Farewell PerformanceVol.2 | Ser.1 Jim Krueger Tim Sale
Déjà VuVol.2 | Ser.1 Paul Chadwick Also printed to coincide with the release of The Matrix as a Comic Book Preview[4] which was recalled when the content was deemed too controversial.[5]
System FreezeVol.2 | Ser.1 Poppy Z. Brite

Dave Dorman, Michael Kaluta

Short story; new illustrations were added when it was included in Volume 2.[6]
The King of Never ReturnVol.2 | Ser.2 Ted McKeever
An Asset to the SystemVol.2 | Ser.2 Troy Nixey
A Path Among StonesVol.2 | Ser.2 Gregory Ruth
Run, Saga, RunVol.2 | Ser.2 Keron Grant Inks by Rob Stull.
Wrong NumberVol.2 | Ser.1 Vince Evans Vince Evans only credited for "Art" in the comic strip, but for "Plot & Art" in the Volume 2 contents page.
Broadcast DepthVol.2 | Ser.2 Bill Sienkiewicz Web comic included a hidden QuickTime movie.
Who Says You Can't Get Good Help These Days?Vol.2 Peter Bagge Print only. Never published as a webcomic.
SaviorsVol.2 Spencer Lamm Michael Oeming Print only. Never published as a webcomic.
I KantVol.2 Kaare Andrews Print only. Never published as a webcomic.
*NEWDay In... Day OutSer.2 Ted McKeever Keron Grant Previously unprinted.
*NEWReturn of the Prodigal SonSer.3 Gregory Ruth Previously unprinted.
*NEWLet It All Fall DownSer.2 Paul Chadwick Previously unprinted.
*NEW: First time being printed
Vol.1: Comic was originally printed in The Matrix Comics Volume 1
Vol.2: Comic was originally printed in The Matrix Comics Volume 2
Ser.1: Comic was part of The Matrix Comics Series 1
Ser.2: Comic was part of The Matrix Comics Series 2
Ser.3: Comic was part of The Matrix Comics Series 3

Notes[]

At the time of its publication, there were only two other webcomics that never went to print and were missing from this edition.

Title Writers Artists Comments
Morning SicknessSer.1 John Gaeta, Grant Niesner, Thomas Proctor, Brett Hartshorn, Dan Rosen, Noah Mizrahi, Sean White & Jamie Pilgrim Created by staff of visual effects house Manex Visual Effects which worked on The Matrix.
The Man Who Knew Too MuchSer.1 W. Wilbur W. Was later removed from the website for unknown reasons. Released April 7th 1999.

See also[]

References[]

  1. The Matrix Comics, GoodReads.com.
  2. The Matrix Comics, Based on the Film, Return to Print This Autumn, PreviewsWorld.com.
  3. The Matrix Comic News Archive May 7th 1999 - from Archive.org
  4. The Matrix Comic News Archive - January 13th 2000 - from Archive.org
  5. SINGAPORE COMICS & COLLECTIBLES: THE MATRIX PROMO COMIC (1999, WB) RARE RECALLED (Thursday, July 2, 2009)
  6. Spencer Lamm (ed.), The Matrix Comics Volume 2, Burlyman Entertainment (2004), p. 4
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